YKK AP improved the existing YUW 750 curtain wall system with a new advanced thermal barrier that minimizes heat transfer. The unitized system is glazed and assembled in a quality-controlled environment and then shipped on site for speedy construction.

To accommodate insulated and monolithic glass, this glass structural system is offered in several back-member framing sizes. Flexible enough to actualize the most inventive facades, the system integrates doors, projected windows, louvers, and metal panel options.

Planar delivers maximum clarity to optimize the amount of light that enters the building envelope. Meanwhile, the entire system incorporates Pilkington’s various glass products to achieve thermal performance, solar control, and pristine views.

This unitized curtain wall system is designed to withstand a high-grade hurricane. The pre-glazed and preassembled glass unit system is available in large, trapezoidal, and inclined modules to realize the most imaginative facade designs. Meanwhile, the integrated vents offer nearly zero sightline interruptions.

On the corner of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, the Nike House of Innovation announces its presence on this stretch of largely historic masonry structures with a striking slumped-and-carved glass facade. The 68,000-square-foot recladding and interior design project replaces the avenue elevation of the concrete-and-glass Pahlavi Foundation Building (formerly owned by the Shah of Iran and recently seized by the Federal Government).

For the six-story structure’s recladding, the design team reached out to Spanish glass manufacturer Cricursa. Based in Barcelona, the company has specialized in curved glass since the early-20th century. To give the glass its shape, the modules are slowly heated to the softening point, around 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, where the materials slumps into customized molds. Once the glass panels have achieved their desired geometry, they are slowly cooled in a process called annealing. Installed as a double-glazed curtain wall, a low emissivity coating was applied to each panel to reduce heat transfer on both sides of the glazing.
The size of the glass modules is largely standardized, measuring approximately 8 by 14 feet. However, where the entrance tapers upward, Cricursa fabricated three variations of trapezoidal panels and a singular triangular panel.
The glass manufacturer fabricated five full-scale mockups of the modules to allow for thermal and structural load testing prior to full production. After testing, approximately 100 windows were shipped to Seele GmbH's facility in Augsburg, Germany, for assembly.
Novel in terms of architectural application, the slumped glass was also CNC-carved with a series of striations perched at a 23.5-degree angle in the style of Nike’s iconic Swoosh logo. Andy Thaemert, Nike senior creative director, described this effect as accomplishing the brand’s goal to “create static architecture that feels like it's in motion.” From street level and within the House of Innovation, views through the glass present constantly shifting refractions of adjacent buildings.
As a re-cladding project, the facade’s assembly is relatively straightforward. According to Heintges, the facade consultants for the project, "the glass facade is hung from the existing roof level with a grid of custom shaped steel mullions and transoms, pinned back for lateral loads at the 5th, and 3rd floor, and just above the ground." In total, the exterior envelope went from steel to glass in roughly four months.
The project follows the Nike House of Innovation 001 constructed in Shanghai in October 2018, while a third is planned for Paris in 2019

From door assemblies and curtainwalls to specialty glazing, these innovative new products combine aesthetic appeal with high performance.
Entice Entrance System CRL-U.S. Aluminum
This is the first premium storefront of its kind that meets and exceeds the industry's ever-evolving building codes and energy conservation requirements while maintaining an air of contemporary elegance. Designed with minimal vertical lines, and able to support door handle hardware on 1" insulating glass panels via specialized thru-glass fittings, the system is also available in a hybrid configuration with fully integrated, prewired and serviceable LED lights that accent the top and bottom of the door.
35HL/50HL Impact Resistant Entrances YKK AP America
A new addition to the Protek product line, the 35HL/50HL impact resistant entrances were tested to meet large and small missile impact up to 50 PSF. With low maintenance, single-point hook locks, the doors also meet the stringent standards for Florida’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties. Each door features a reinforced tubular frame that allows for side-lite glazing without shear clips, while maintaining the structural integrity of transom frames. The 35HL/50HL entrances with standard low-e insulating glass meet 2012 IECC for all climate zones.
Pilkington Spacia Pilkington North America
Pilkington Spacia vacuum glazing consists of an outer pane of low-e glass and an inner pane of clear glass, separated by a microspacer grid of tiny pillars, that offers the same thermal performance as conventional double glazing in one-quarter of the thickness and two-thirds of the weight. Can be retrofit into existing window frames designed for single glazing.
MetroView FG 501T Window Wall Kawneer
Offering a slab-to-slab aluminum frame design with an integrated edge to replicate the sophisticated appearance of a true curtain wall, this sleek, efficient, and versatile unit is ideal for mid-rise commercial and multi-family housing projects. Corner members for either 90° or 135° applications increase design flexibility. Optional expansion vertical mullions make it is simple and economical to achieve a customized appearance.
ExtremEdge Viracon
ExtremEdge decreases thermal heat loss of windows and so satisfies ever-more stringent energy codes and standards of sustainable design. To meet these requirements, the spacer is constructed with a lower conductivity biopolymer material and encapsulated in stainless steel. These materials reduce the edge’s conductivity and heat transfer into the building.
All Ultrex PTAC Integrity
An Integrity All Ultrex Swinging Picture window that is mulled to a Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC) unit opening is popular solution for commercial projects because of the convenience it offers for AC installation. The interior and exterior of the window is pultruded fiberglass, making the unit virtually no-maintenance.

The role of glass continues to expand in architecture as new performance properties and aesthetic qualities come to market in a steady flow. From photovoltaic glazing to printing technologies that address the issue of avian impacts, the material has become an active, dynamic force in buildings.
SunGuard SNX 51/23Guardian
For commercial use, this high-performance, low-E glass has a VLT above 50 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient below .25.
Solarban z75PPG
Featuring a neutral, cool-gray tint, this low-emissivity glass offers an intelligent combination of visible light transmittance, solar control, and light control.
View Dynamic GlassView
As the sun intensifies, a nanotech interlayer regulates an electric current that shifts ions in the glass, automatically darkening them. Offered in panels up to 5 feet by 10 feet.
Ornilux MikadoArnold Glas
This bird-protection glass features a patterned UV coating that is visible to birds, but virtually transparent to the human eye.
i-GlassOldcastle BuildingEnvelope
This screenless technology can print multiple colors and complex designs on exterior and interior glass.
LightZoneSageGlass
Variable tint zones within a single pane of electrochromic glass allows great flexibility for managing solar heat gain and glare.
CLASS SapphireSaint Gobain
In sheets up to 9 inches by 26 inches and 12 inches by 24 inches, this transparent ballistic-resistant material achieves a 40 percent lighter and 40 percent thinner system than a glass-only design.
DigitalDistinctions Etch InkViracon
This ink simulates the look of acid-etched or colored-etched glass without high-pressure sand blasting or dangerous acids.

From enhancing aesthetics with digitally-printed ceramic panels to increasing build-speed via all-in-one insulated metal panel systems, these innovative building products offer specialized facade solutions to architects.
ClearShade Insulated Glass PanelPanelite
A glazing solution that optimizes both daylight and solar heat control, its honeycomb insert is offered in a range of colors and patterns; customization is available.
DektonCosentino
Available in sheets up to 126 by 56 inches and thicknesses of 8, 12, and 20 millimeters, this ultra-compacted material has a high compressive strength, is non-porous, and UV resistant. In ten colors and textures.
Dot-to-DotTagina
The system is based on three-dimensional ceramic modules that function as pixels when mounted to an exterior facade. Consulting with the manufacturer, designers can create their own limited edition glazed porcelain tiles for ventilated facades or other architectural coverings.
BenchmarkKingspan
A single package system that combines the energy efficiency of IMPs with a proprietary carrier panel system that accommodates many cladding options, including aluminum composite material, metal composite material, ceramic granite, thin brick, plate, high pressure laminate, and ceramic tile.
Renewall
Lamboo
Laminated bamboo elements are up to 20 percent more stable than hardwoods, while milling, sanding, and finishing using conventional machinery. Its naturally occurring silica content resists insects and fungal agents. LEED eligible.
HashtagCambridge Architectural
In panels up to 96 inches wide, the flattened surface area of this rigid stainless steel mesh boosts reflectivity. Produced from 100 percent recycled materials, it is LEED eligible.
Lea LabLea Ceramiche
Architects can create their own custom cladding imagery on ultra-thin, oversized ceramic panels using the Lea Lab digital printing technology. Upload high-resolution files, specify the panel size, and the manufacturing process is initiated.
BalticGKD Metal Fabrics
With a range of visible light transmittance from .28 to .42 and a solar gain coefficient of between .20 and .29, this metal fabric makes an effective sunshade.

The dual role glass plays in architectural design—a material integral to both a building's appearance and its performance—makes selecting a specific product a tricky process. From energy-efficient glazing to decorative dichroic panels, here are a few new items to spur the imagination.
LiquidkrystalLasvit
Designed by Ross Lovegrove, these glass panels can be fixed into construction profiles or into building construction-assembly grooves. Specialty colors and finishes are available; panels range in size from 80 by 8 centimeters to 270 by 370 centimeters.
Koda XT3Form
Refined design meets extreme durability in this translucent polycarbonate panel material. Specially formulated for exterior applications, it is a cost-effective alternative to glass.
8250 STXWausau
Factory-fabricated as an aluminum knocked-down system, this curtain wall offers glazing contractors an easy-to-install, non-thermal system for low- to mid-rise buildings. It features tubular vertical framing members in lieu of I-beams, to withstand wind loads without twisting at anchor points or buckling.
VUE-30Viracon
This high-performance glass coating allows designers to maximize window-to-wall ratios, while exceeding industry and current domestic energy code requirements for sustainable design. The coating is available on any Viracon glass substrate, and can also be combined with silkscreen patterns or digital printing.
Optichroic Dichroic GlassBendheim
This laminated glass is available in an assortment of surface combinations, including clear, etched, and etched patterns. It can be produced in sheets as large as 54 by 120 inches, without the long lead-times typically associated with specialty products.